The True View Of Renovations

When renovating your home you’ll be no doubt doing so with the intention of living in the property for a long time. However, when you consider it critically: are you likely to live in this home for the rest of your life, or will you be looking to sell later on? A common misconception of renovation works – or ‘home improvement’ works as they’re often somewhat wrongly referred to – is that they always add value to a property. This isn’t always the case. 
There are many home renovation projects that can decrease the value of your property. Read on to learn of the most common, and if you’re considering installing any in your home, perhaps think twice before you do.

Installing A Dressing Room

Separate dressing rooms are only practical if there’s enough bedrooms in the home that the value of losing extra space to one doesn’t impact on the overall property value. In many markets, property value is heavily dictated by the amount of bedrooms – and often if there is space for a dressing room, there is space for another bedroom. Larger homes are best suited to extra dressing rooms as this value increase may be negligible. 
What to do instead? Consider fitting out the new dressing room or walk-in closet room freestanding wardrobes. This allows them to be easily removed for conversion to a bedroom when you decide to sell.

Covering Up Heritage Property Features

Period properties can be difficult to navigate decoration-wise if they have awkward looking features. All too often homeowners work to cover up such features so as to keep their interior design cohesive and suited to a modern palette. Doing so can actually detract from property value as buyers are unable to see the unique style of the home.
What to do instead? Use heritage features as a focal point for rooms! Consider how your home’s quirks can add characterful value to decoration and work with it to improve aesthetics and highlight your home’s uniqueness.

Adding In Built In Furniture

Built-in furniture is a modern feature of many homes, for convenient and great looking storage space throughout a property. That said, it can be difficult to remove once installed and when in place, often gives potential buyers a false picture of smaller spaces as well as the inability to really analyse how a room could look without it.
What to do instead? Keep furniture freestanding and decorate it to match the design of each room/ Freestanding furniture will be easier and cheaper to remove and will allow anyone looking around to better visualise the space.

Investing In Inflexible Tech

There are untold amounts of technological solutions now available to improve and enhance your home, and many of us are turning to such products to make our lives easier. It is important though, never to abandon traditional home solutions entirely. Inflexible tech products can be difficult to uninstall and are likely to repel potential buyers who prefer less modern methods. 
What to do instead? There’s no need to entirely abandon tech, but always ensure that it isn’t entirely replacing a fallback method. Never install anything that can’t be easily removed and be sure that you can demonstrate a manual method for everything your tech does too.

Converting The Garage Into Another Room

Lockdown has seen many people jump at the chance to brick up their garage door and instead convert their vehicle’s parking space in to something different – a gym, an office, a games room or even another bedroom. While using an outdoor area to park your car may have only a small impact on insurance cost, it’s likely to have a big impact on property price; which could go up or down.
What to do instead? By all means use your garage for something else, but don’t brick up the door. Instead cover up the door from the inside to be sure that it can be used again as a garage as and when it may need to be in the future.

Ripping Up The Garden Lawn

While many people can’t handle the responsibility of a large green space, so too do many people enjoy it. Paving over a lawn or choosing to deck it to remove the requirement for regular watering and mowing may decrease your workload around the house but so too can reduce the property’s overall value as buyers look for and appreciate real green space (even if they are going to make their own decision on how to utilise it later on!).
What to do instead? If you really don’t want to look after a full lawn with regular maintenance, instead look into faux grass products for the space. These can be easily removed at a later date should the new owner want to ‘grow their own’, so to speak.

Installing Solar Panels

Solar panels are undoubtedly one of the most eco-friendly ways to fuel properties and with reams of government subsidies and persuasive marketing campaigns over the years, it’s no surprise that so many homeowners have chosen to install them. However, home buyers don’t always like them – and cite their aesthetics, maintenance and hindrance of future renovation plans as niggles.
What to do instead? If solar power truly is the right fuel choice for you – and it may well be – try to install panels that don’t take up too much room or are situated somewhere discreet to passers by. If possible, ask for as much information as possible on their removal to pass on to anyone new.

Digging A Swimming Pool

Installing a swimming pool in your garden is considered by many to be the epitome of luxury; but it’s very expensive. Pool maintenance requires both time and money commitments long term (particularly when outside) and without sufficient safety features can be considered a hazard by buyers.
What to do instead? If space is an issue, a standalone hot tub can make for a fine investment, but if not, install safety features and have an easily removable cover if outdoors. Make the pool maintenance as easy as possible – so both the current and future homeowners will benefit!

Get in touch!

Let us guide you through the best home renovations for your living space and lifestyle. Get in touch today for your free no obligation discussion and quote.